TECHNOLOGY Advice
THENEEDFOR SPEED
Fibre provider HypEropTic is on track to
revolutionise theUKbroadbandmarket with hyper-fast connections and lowprices
BroAdBAnd is incrEAsingly A ‘must-have’ rather than apleasingadd-ontomodern life.Withmost of us regularlyusing the internet forleisure -suchasfor shopping and talking to friends and family - and with more than four millionpeoplenowestimated towork fromhome,broadband speed and connectivity is rapidlybecomingkey to the property-buyingprocess.However,despite theimportanceofbroadband technology to ourlives, theUKcurrentlylagsbehindin thespeed
stakes.AccordingtoOfcom,the averageBriton gets roughly6.8Mbps,which puts us in theratherunimpressive position of twenty-fifthintheworldfor broadband speeds. A company that is set to change all this
is London-based fibre broadbandprovider Hyperoptic.HeadedupbyMDDanaTobak, theformerco-founderandMDof Be,the companyisbased atWestfield andisthe first in theUKtoofferconsumers 1Gigabit download and upload speeds. Hyperoptic’s aim is to revolutionise broadband in the UKby bringing fibre directly into homes, resulting in a lightning fast connection -currently140 timesthe speed of theUK average. Sowhatmakesfibre broadbandsosuperior?
Dana explains that theADSLtechnology that brings broadband intomostUKhomes utilisesthe unused capacity within our copper phonelines to transmitdata. This has theadvantage of usingexistingtechnology that is connectedtovirtually everyhome in theUK.Where it fallsdownisthe lack of capacity for todays’ bandwidth needs as well as theinevitableinterference on theline either due to lack of ‘shielding’ fromother linesorfrom external powersources such as sub-stations andtransmitters. In recent yearsprogress has beenmade by traditional broadbandproviders in increasing speed andefficiencybut usersare stillplagued by what Dana callsthe ‘distancefrom exchange problem’.Basically,the furtherfrom the telephoneexchangeyou live,themore degradedyourbroadband signal becomes, leavingsomehomes with no reliable broadbandand others with an intermittent service. Usingfibre optic technology solvesall these problems. Unlike phone wires, this
Flat Living Summer 2012
technology has beendeveloped with thesole purpose of transmittingmassiveamountsof data. There is no signal degradation and the cablingcan be laid at thesametimeasother services, keeping costs down. It is not only the speed of Hyperoptic’s
fibre broadband offer that is predicted to get
themarkettalking.Pricesare competitive toowithresidential pricingstarting at a comparatively low£12.50permonthfor broadband (based on taking phone service with a£12.50linerental, includingfree UKeveningand weekendcalls). Packages
include: n20Mb/s Hyper-lite
£12.50 pcm
n100 Mb/s Hyper-active £25.00 pcm n1Gig
Hyper-sonic £50.00 pcm Hyperoptic is nowtalking toawide
rangeofdeveloperstopromote thebenefits to residents of incorporating fibre optic technology in
theirschemes.The offer is an attractive one. Future-proofing residential developments in thefaceofever-increasing demandfor faster broadband, addsvalue andhas huge potentialkerbappealfor purchasers. Allthismakes perfectsense in newbuild
developments butwhatofexistingblocks? There is no doubtofthe potentialbenefit that residentscan gain butwhattheywill be asking is howmuchitwillcost to run newcabling andinstall thetechnologyin their homes? There is no easy answer to this
question.AccordingtoDana, it dependson theconstructionofthe building. Does it have existing risers andhatches providing access to each flat? Is thebuildinglisted? Can cablingremain surface-mountedormustit be hidden?These issues allimpactoncost. Ontheplussidehowever,there is also
what Dana describes as the‘Grouponeffect’ whichmeans that themore residents buy- in to thetechnology, thecheaper it canbe offered. Hyperoptic’s’ current offermeans that they areonlylooking at installingfibre in blocks ofmore than
100units.Smaller than that andthe economiesofscale don’t addup, Dana explains,althoughinfuture this is expected to change. LocationsthatHyperoptic has already
starteddeployments in includeBattersea, Docklands, Holborn, Shepherds Bush, Vauxhall andWestminster.●
WHaTarE fibrEOPTiCS?
Anoptical fibre is a flexible, transparent length of silica only slightly thicker than a human hair. Light is transmitted between the two ends of the fibre,whichallowsdatato be transmitted faster and further than other formsof communication. Signalstravel along fibres very efficiently and they are not plagued by the interferencethataffects copper
telephonewires.Fibrescan be wrapped in bundlestoenable themto carry large quantities of data including complex images. Thismakes themparticularly appropriatefor supplying services such as TV and broadband.
AboutHyperoptic
Hyperoptic is thelatest fibretechnology for online
connection.Delivering fibre- to-the-buildingwithspeeds of1Gig to jump start theUKinto the ‘real’ fibre revolution, Hyperopticwasfoundedin 2011byBorisIvanovic, ChairmanandDana Tobak,ManagingDirector(below).The sameteampreviouslyco-foundedtheUK’s breakthrough24megISPBein2005,which wassoldtoO2oneandahalfyears
later.Be’s market-leadingcustomerserviceenabled themtowinanumber ofawardsincluding Which?ISPandPCAdvisor’sBestBuy. Hyperoptic is afinalist in twocategoriesof the2012ISPAAwards; Best Consumer Fixed
BroadbandandBestNew ISP.
Hyperoptic UnitC401,
Westfield London, ArielWay, London,W127FD Tel 0333 332 1111 Email support@
hyperoptic.com
Webwww.hyperoptic.com 25
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